The present invention is directed to a bracket for mounting electrical devices in partitions.
During building construction, electrical outlets and switches, as well as other electrical devices positioned in a wall and reachable by occupants of the building, must be installed. These electrical devices are normally wired into metal junction boxes which themselves are mounted within the walls or other hollow partitions. This mounting has often been the source of trouble and delay during construction.
The traditional method for mounting junction boxes has been to mount them onto studs in the wall or partition. This has several disadvantages. For example, the junction boxes must be installed after the studs are in place, but before the wallboard or other surface panel is installed, allowing only a short time for mounting. If the mounting is not accomplished within this short time interval, the junction boxes must then be mounted later after completion of the wall. This requires cutting holes in the wall, which is expensive, time-consuming, and unsightly. Also, the junction boxes can only be mounted where the studs are located, which limits the flexibility of their placement and greatly complicates planning for specialized electrical installations. Further, it is difficult or impossible to adjust the location of the junction boxes relative to the position of the studs if they are installed onto studs.
Junction boxes mounted by conventional brackets are typically susceptible to damage during earthquake or fire, thereby causing or contributing to a fire due to damaged electrical apparatus inside the box. The junction box is damaged when the wall stud to which the bracket is attached, or the wall partition in which the box is embedded, buckles during an earthquake or fire.
Accordingly, there is a need for a system for installing junction boxes for electrical devices that allows flexibility in the timing of the installation, flexibility in the placement of the junction boxes, ease in adjusting the height of the boxes as installed, and reduced susceptibility to damage during an earthquake or fire.